Would You Feed This?

[LTS3]

I heard a Bloomberg news report on a new pet food company that is making pet food with meat substitutes Fake Meat Might Feed Your Dog and Save the Planet The dog food is vegan with the protein source made from koji which is a type of fungus. The vet who spoke in the report made it clear that dogs are omnivores and can eat a vegan diet while cats are carnivores and require meat. The vet went on to say that the company will be making a canned food for cats that is made with "fake mice". But is the "fake mice" also plant protein? So then it's not really meat. The company, Wild Earth Pets, will sell food directly to consumers. Their FB page already has negative comments.

 

[sabrinah]

I don't know how I feel about this. I certainly wouldn't feed it to my cat. Their first product is treats which I wouldn't mind giving to my dog, but I'm not comfortable enough with lab-grown meats to give him meals of it when/if they get that process going.

I read through some of the negative comments and it seems like a lot of vegans complaining. The company says "Future products will include cultured meat derived humanely from animal cells," thus the vegans are angry that the pet food won't technically be vegan and isn't completely humane since mice cells are being used. One other review simply prefers real meat for pets, not lab meat.

 

[1 bruce 1]

No, I wouldn't.

 

[lisahe]

No.

 

[Willowy]

I imagine engineered meat will be approximately the same as meat from an animal, so I have no objection to that. Of course it's very expensive now, but if they ever figure out how to mass-produce it, great. I'd use it, and feed it to my cats.

But not fake meat made from vegetable sources, not for cats. Maybe a little for dogs, but not as a full diet.

 

[abyeb]

As obligate carnivores, cats need meat. I don’t think a fungus-based protein could give them the nutrients they need.

 

[1 bruce 1]

As obligate carnivores, cats need meat. I don’t think a fungus-based protein could give them the nutrients they need.

I don't think even my hoover-vacuum cleaner cats that like almost ALL protein sources, eggs, yogurt, milk, random treats you name it, would happily snarf down anything fungus based, nor would I force them to.
I wouldn't expect my dogs to eat this either.
I appreciate the idea of keeping "meat" away from animal suffering, but the problem lies in the CAFO and what's considered "appropriate" for them. Keeping costs down can be a b****, but if small farmers weren't drive out of the picture by super-uber "cheap meat", the market for decent farming might not be so small and the prices might not be higher.
Not stating facts of course, just wondering how we humans have boxed ourselves into this meat and ethical mess.

 

[cheesycats]

Not sure how or when omnivorous started meaning herbivorous. I wouldnt feed it to anything other than a herbivore maybe. But I don’t have any animals that fall into that category so no. Would not feed.

 

[Vega's Dad]

No. But I wouldn't mind to try fake meat for human

 

[duckpond]

No i would not. Not for a cat, a dog, or my family.

 

[Willowy]

I've had veggie burgers made from mushrooms. Most are pretty good! So I'd give it a try for myself. And if they replaced some of the protein in dog food with the koji protein, that would be OK. But not entirely. Although fungi are almost animals. . .eh, it's complicated.

BTW, dogs are NOT omnivores. Humans are omnivores, just look at our teeth. Bears are omnivores. Dogs are carnivores, but not obligate carnivores; they have more flexibility in their diet. They are still carnivores and need some meat.

 

[LTS3]

BTW, dogs are NOT omnivores. Humans are omnivores, just look at our teeth. Bears are omnivores. Dogs are carnivores, but not obligate carnivores; they have more flexibility in their diet. They are still carnivores and need some meat.

I know but that's what the vet who spoke in the news report said

As obligate carnivores, cats need meat. I don’t think a fungus-based protein could give them the nutrients they need.

Me neither. Plant or fungus or whatever based protein is NOT meat and is not a substitute for meat for cats